The mystery of terra petra the super soil of the amazon

over 3 years ago

2021 is here and with a new year comes with 365 chances to get baked so lets get to it

Intro

Amazon rainforest one of natures wonders, or is it? There is evidence that the Amazon rainforest yes that Amazon rainforest is based on a man made super soil. This means that the most potent natural fertilizer ever designed was made centuries ago by the the native inhabitants of the Amazon River basin.

Human ancestors secrets lost to time

What our ancestors knew that we have lost has always been a fascination when I first heard of Terra Preta also known as “Dark Earth” and it's origins and properties I had to learn more. By conservative estimates, Cornell University reports that the soil on a single patch of land can remain fertile without the use of chemical fertilizers for as long 40 years. They believe that as much as 12% of the Amazon can be attributed to humans.

Imagine the pot you could grow with this organic fertilizer 40 years just damn

Mystery of tera petra

Terra preta or “Dark Earth” has been found in patches as large as 300 acres around the river basin. While scientists are still trying to find out its recipe. I have a theory though it's not for the faint of heart some of the missing ingredients are either human waste (which I'm sure they have accounted for) or much more likely human remains.

Messed up theory of mine

I do have reasons to believe this saltpeter is a component in gunpowder but also a natural chemical fertilizer. This can be produced when bacteria and other decomposers breaks down human remains in mass graves/human waste mixture.

As messed up as this sounds there's actually historical records of this tactic being used in early warfare when gunpowder was first discovered. I'm just full of not so fun facts am
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terra preta covers a surface area in the Amazon equivalent to the size of France.

Reason for writing

This is a fascinating subject to me our ancestors where much more intelligent than we think. Though our technology has advanced the world one of the issues is simply not having all of the information once discovered now lost to time. Countless examples of similar lost knowledge exist both agricultural and architectural. This is why I try to keep an open mind no one knows everything you should never stop learning.

If this is popular I will try to make another wonders ancient man & nature have made together I think ill write one about a natural adhesive stronger than concrete from humanities past.